


Conjuring a Friend

by Doitsuki



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Arcane - Freeform, Drabble, Elementals, Friendship, Gen, Magic, magic fishing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 21:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7950607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doitsuki/pseuds/Doitsuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little AU drabble where Khadgar, having lived with Medivh since childhood, goes to study in Dalaran at the age of 13 and is just finishing up one of his classes. He meets some people and learns new things. This is kind of an established universe and an excerpt from a fic I'm writing. Legion has inspired me~~</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conjuring a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> This is when Dalaran is not a floating city and still in the ground, mind you. Even though there are Legion characters in here, let's just imagine that this all happened a long while ago.

After class, Khadgar wandered in to the Legerdemain Lounge. It seemed inviting enough and was an open, airy space on the northern quarter of Runeweaver Square. Khadgar stepped off the reddish purple pavement and entered through a white marble archway.

Inside, a warm and mystical atmosphere drew him near the bar, which was staffed by two elves. One of them glanced at Khadgar and flashed him a brilliant smile.

“Need anything?”

“Er…” Khadgar approached and rested his hands on the bartop, not yet tall enough to lean over and look all conspiratorial like the other mages. “What do you have?”

The elf laughed, his light blue eyes shining with mirth. “Just about anything. You look like a student fresh out of class. How about something for your mana?”

“Sure.” Khadgar climbed up onto the leather cushioned barstool and looked around. The entrance he’d just come through was to his right, another on the left, but before him was a wall of drinks that radiated pure energy. In vials and bottles of all shapes and sizes, different colours swirled around. The bartender, wearing tight mauve pants and an open white shirt boiled some water with a flick of flame from his hands. He took about two minutes to brew some honeymint tea for Khadgar, and slid over the pristine gilded ceramic cup on a flowery saucer.

“One gold, ten silver.”

Knowing it was impolite to complain about prices, Khadgar handed over the coins and with unusual delicacy, lifted the cup to his lips. The tea was sweet and hot but not overly so, enough for him to feel it spreading through him. All the mana he’d expended during his lessons slowly returned and he found a slight smile curving his lips.

“Haven’t seen you around here before, kid. What’s your name?” asked the bartender.

“Khadgar.” said Khadgar, watching the elf’s slender hands work a cleaning spell into an oddly shaped glass container. “And you?”

“Arille. I run this place along with my beautiful Amisi there.” He winked at the female elf who was pouring a drink for someone else at the other end of the bar, and she blew him a sparkling kiss. They both had the same white-gold hair and glowing blue eyes, the mark of pureblooded High Elves. Khadgar found himself humbled, to be served so kindly by beings known to be haughty and superior. Arille’s long, pointed ears twitched as heavy footsteps approached. Khadgar glanced to see a tall, balding man with a neat grey moustache. Dressed in well worn sleeveless lilac and violet robes, a little too low cut to be appropriate in Dalaran, he raised a hand.

“Ari! It’s about time for me to get going. You got any of that fine cheese left?”

“Of course.” Arille inclined his head and then gave the man (a conjurer, Khadgar realized by the aura of power surrounding him) a huge sack of cheese. “Anything else?”

The two of them conversed but their words were lost on Khadgar, whose attention had turned in a different direction. Beside the conjurer’s thong-wearing feet was a purplish-blue arcane elemental. Its slanted white eyes glowed brightly and lavender smoke curled around its waist. Clawed fingers clenched and unclenched, and Khadgar saw that the thing had gem-studded manacles around its wrists. The elemental turned its head and looked at him imploringly. Stricken with sudden emotion, Khadgar stretched his hand down to touch it. The elemental shifted just a little and allowed Khadgar to pat its head. Then, the conjurer glanced in its direction.

“Oh, Blythe. Have you made a new friend?”

Khadgar did not know elementals could have names. Blythe spoke in an echoing, soft voice.

“If only.”

The conjurer looked at Khadgar, then leaned on the bartop in a most relaxed manner.

“Ello, lad. What’s a young thing like you doing in a place like this?”

Khadgar lifted his teacup. “Just… restoring a bit of mana, Sir.”

“Aw. Studies been draining you, eh?” Thick white-streaked eyebrows descended over light purple eyes. “It’s a damn shame. Wouldn’t you rather be off having fun instead of tiring yourself out?”

“Margoss…” Arille carried a warning tone in his voice, but Conjurer Margoss paid no heed. Khadgar tilted his head to the side.

“Magic is fun even when it’s exhausting, I think.”

“Hmm…” Margoss seemed deep in thought and absently drew glowing patterns in the air. “Ah! I have an idea. Would you perhaps be up for some magic fishing?”

“Magic… fishing?” Khadgar saw Arille facepalm from the corner of his eye. Turning his full attention to Margoss while feeling Blythe bat at his hands, he asked “What’s that?”

“It’s fishing but with magic! Heaps of fun. You should join me – I have a retreat just east of Dalaran. I’ll be heading there now, I’ve got my supplies.” He hefted the bag of cheese that Arille had given him, and also had Blythe carry a large sealed crate. The elemental had put it down while waiting for his Master. Now, Blythe lifted it and hunched over, seeming a bit upset.

“I’ve got time.” said Khadgar, finishing his tea and thanking Arille for making it so perfectly.

“Excellent!” Margoss lit up with excitement and also a surge of magic, reaching out for Khadgar to take his hand. “Let’s go.”

They both teleported and Khadgar stumbled as wooden floorboards turned into soft grass. No longer was he in an enclosed space with finery draping the walls and protective magic flitting about. He was out in the open, standing in front of a large pond with a few boulders and logs in it. Opposite the pond, there was less grass and more hard dirt, compact from being repeatedly walked on. Above the dirt a shack had been erected, with a roof from which fish, nets, hooks and rods hung. More rods stood against crates and barrels, and there were wooden containers everywhere. Khadgar saw a tankard of ale sitting next to a huge turquoise sack and wondered if Margoss liked to drink. He certainly dressed like someone who wasn’t always in his right mind – nobody in Dalaran went around wearing thongs, revealing robes that smelt fishy and non functional bandages wrapped around their arms. Margoss’s aesthetic aside, Khadgar found himself curious.

“Sir…” Khadgar walked beside Margoss to the shack, and was promptly given a nice long rod. “I don’t know how to fish.”

“That’s okay!” said Margoss, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. “I’ll teach you.”

So he picked up his own rod and stood next to Khadgar, instructing him. His patience and clear explanations reminded Khadgar of Medivh, and the young mage found himself easily picking up the skill of fishing. After about ten casts into the clear, clean water, Khadgar reeled in something odd. It wasn’t a fish, but rather a bluish globule with a slight glow.

“What the…”

“It looks like you’ve caught some drowned mana!” Margoss did a little fist pump and held out his hand. “I’ll take that off your hands.”

Khadgar let him take the mana and asked, “What does it do?”

“This pond here is infused with mana, being so close to Dalaran and all. This kind of mana however has fused with the element of water, instead of spreading through its molecules and dispersing as magical energy usually does.”

 _‘He must’ve been an instructor before he started this fishing business.’_ Khadgar thought as he listened intently, wishing he’d brought his spellbook along to take notes. _‘He knows more about this stuff than anyone has bothered to explain to me.’_

“Usually, to fuse mana with a natural substance, it requires a spell or ritual. That’s how enchanted things end up being made. But this mana in this pond does it by itself, making the resulting stuff very powerful indeed.” Margoss put the drowned mana into a barrel, dropping it in as if it were a massive slippery fish egg. It was the size of his hand and darkened when it went into the barrel. “I like to collect it. I’d be very happy if you could help me catch some.”

“Okay.” Khadgar nodded, and cast his rod into the water again. He’d taken to sitting on a crate for this, and was comfortable to relax here. The fresh air felt good in his lungs and there was no oppressive magical aura like the one in Dalaran. Every room there was infused with more magic than Khadgar could handle. The stuff was always buzzing at him, filling his head with thoughts, questions and mischief. Here, he felt like he could properly chill out. The pond had a gentle ebb and flow of mystical energies that recovered quickly when Khadgar pulled up some drowned mana.

“It’s good of you to help me with this, Khadgar.” said Margoss, flexing his fingers. “My apprentice there doesn’t care much for fishing.”

Blythe turned his head and looked woefully at his Master. Khadgar raised an eyebrow.

“Apprentice?”

“Yes, yes.” Margoss squinted for a moment. “Oh… you are still studying. Of course, you would not understand.”

“Hey!” Khadgar reeled in nothing and stood up. “What don’t I understand?”

“Let me tell you.” Margoss beckoned and both Blythe and Khadgar approached. He sat on the grass and Blythe hovered beside him, staring at the floor. “Blythe here is an arcane elemental. He’s different to fire or water elementals because he’s much smarter than they could ever be.” Blythe seemed to brighten at this. “I used to study the Arcane, and even though I didn’t like it much, I got pretty good at making elementals. So I made Blythe, and gave him all the sentience and intelligence I was capable of. He can grow and learn just like any other apprentice, and he’s also wonderfully obedient.” Of course, Blythe had no choice in that, being a creature of Margoss’s making. Khadgar was stunned.

“So… with the power of the Arcane… you can make _life_?”

“Something like it, yes. It’s a bit like how goblins and gnomes can make robots, and using lines of code and mathematics, make them have some sort of simulated understanding. With the Arcane, it’s much the same… only you need quite the specialist knowledge to do something like this.” He gestured again to Blythe, who remained impassive.

“I want to make one too.” said Khadgar, excitement clear on his face. “I could use a friend.”

“Well…” Margoss looked unsure. “I’m not the best person to teach you how to harness the Arcane. I’ve long since given up working powerful and intense magics. But I’m sure about twenty years with the right tutor could point you in the right direction.”

Khadgar gasped. “Are you serious? But… making elementals seems so _easy_. I can do fire and water ones, but they’re not very smart.”

“Mhm.” Margoss stretched, scrunching up his face for a moment. “Ahh… well, in all honesty, the bigger elementals you make, the more energy they require. It’s the mind that’s the trouble. I’m sure you could make a little arcane fella if you tried.” He tapped the side of his head. “How far are you with your studies of the Arcane?”

“Not very.” Khadgar shifted about. “My teacher said I was incompetent.”

A shadow passed over Margoss’s face. Then it was gone, replaced by a look of sympathy.

“Aw… I’m sure that’s not true. You seem like a bright young lad to me.” He patted Khadgar on the shoulder and then asked Blythe to get him something. Blythe brought over a purple tome with a bit of black dust covering it. The wind blew the dust away to reveal red lettering in a language Khadgar couldn’t read.

“Here. Take this, and study it.” said Margoss, tracing the title with his index finger. “It’s not meant to be read with your eyes and words, but rather understanding. You can glean a bit of knowledge just by holding it.”

Khadgar took the tome and at once felt energy surge through his fingers, arcane power seeping into his body. He nearly dropped the book, feeling like he’d been hit by a lightning bolt.

“Temper it, lad. Don’t let it overwhelm you.” Margoss spoke softly and Khadgar found within himself the strength to make sense of the connection between himself and the book. As he did, he closed hie eyes and pulled all the energy together. Then, he pushed it back into the tome and let it lay dormant, spread through every page. Margoss smiled. “Good.”

“Thank you…” Khadgar slipped the book into his robes,which had large pockets sewn in precisely for that purpose. “I will study it to the best of my ability.”

“And make sure nobody sees you.” Margoss raised one finger, and Blythe nodded. “That is a very rare and valuable tome that your teachers would not want in your hands. But I think you’ll do well with it.”

“Mm!” Khadgar nodded. “I don’t have any more classes for today, though.”

“You’re welcome to stay here with me.” said Margoss, reaching for his rod to cast into the pond again. “When you feel like going back, just let me know. I can teleport you.”

So Khadgar fished with Margoss late into the evening, and bid the conjurer and elemental farewell once it was time for him to return. He flipped through the secret tome whilst eating dinner in the privacy of his own room. There was one thing on his mind.

_‘I want to conjure myself a friend.’_


End file.
